The Hero Gotham Needed
by Overlord-Zenorac
Summary: With the recent death of Adam West, I decided to write this small fanfic. This would be set during the Thangarian invasion of Earth. With the other heroes unable to protect the innocent, Simon Trent decides to become the hero that Batman and the world had seen him as: The Gray Ghost. During the darkest hour, he may not be the hero the city wanted, but he is the one the city needed.
1. The Gray Ghost dons his cape

**A/N - With the recent death of Adam West, I decided to write this small fanfic. This would be set during the Thangarian invasion of Earth. He may not be the hero they had wanted, but he was the hero they needed.**

It had happened so quickly, the former actor had thought as he sat in his old comfort seat, watching the TV. Although the world had changed much in the last few years, the actors life hadn't changed much since his encounter with Batman. The only difference was that Simon Trent was getting residual checks now for all the Gray Ghost episodes. This meant that he could finally rest easy in his apartment and do some conventions every once in a while.

Due to his increased bank balanace, he had finally managed to get one item of memorabelia that he had internally wanted for many years: The Ghost Locomotive. A refurbished 1960 Messerschmitt KR-200 with various labelled buttons covering the dashboard and the normally colourful paintjob now the colour of the TV hero.

His mind wasn't on the car outside or on his small amount of money in his bank or even on the cult following he had gained. His mind was on the horror that had consumed Gotham and the world. The news as showing the 'protectors of earth' proclaiming that the earth was now under martial law and that the Justice League were the villains. He would've just thought that he was watching an old goofy sci-fi tv show if the hovering ships outside weren't declaring the same news. Standing upwards, he walked towards the Television and turned it off, no longer wanting to watch it.

His attention was drawn rather quickly by a female scream from the outside. Moving faster than he had in years, he gazed out the window and saw a few of the winged warriors surrounding a lone woman. Looking from the group towards the rooftops, he waited for the shadows of a cowl and cape, Batman always being there to defend the defenceless in the city. God, he was beginning to sound like his own alter-ego. However, as the three aliens grew closer, it soon became apparent what their intentions were, if their hands had anything to do with it. Feeling his knuckles clench, he looked down.

"I'm an actor, what am I supposed to do?" he asked to the room, his eyes closing before turning around to return to his seat. Opening his eyes, his sight was captured by the poster above the television. The televised caped hero gazed back at him with his glowing goggle. A voice played through his head from long ago, _'I used to admire what the Gray Ghost stood for'_. His response to that had been the same just a few seconds ago. _'Like you said, you need my help'_. The screams echoed throughout his room, his gaze going from the poster towards his closet, the costume lying in wait for his owner.

Walking towards it, he opened it up and gazed into the blank goggles awaiting him. He was an actor. He fought villains like King Ram, Dr Death, Baconman etc. on TV. How was he supposed to fight aliens that had seemingly defeated the Justice League. _'Good always, no matter the delay, always triumphs over evil'._ It took only a few seconds to put the uniform on, the goggles covering his eyes and two stun-guns replacing the prop guns in his holsters (he lived in Gotham, every one had a weapon hidden to protect themselves). Dashing to his window, the hovering ships had disappeared round the corner of the street and the woman in distress was putting up a good fight but it was obvious that she wasn't going to succeed. Opening the window, he quickly descended the fire escape and rushed over to the alley, his cape rustling behind him in the wind.

"Stop right there evil-dooers!" he yelled out, his silhouette being captured in the street light. All eyes came on him, his mind once again yelling at him that this was a really bad idea.

"It's that human hero, Batman!" one of the hawkmen yelled out, their weapons quickly becoming trained on him. Placing his hands on his hips, his Gray Ghost persona managing to overcome the fear coursing through Simon. "Those with evil hearts beware, the Gray Ghost!"


	2. The Gray Ghost fights again

**A/N - These chapters will probably be quite small and come rather erratically. I hope whoever's reading this, enjoys the story though :D**

Continuing to stand out in the open, his meagre chest pushed out to its fullest, the three Thangarians simply puzzled over the caped crime fighter, the list of heroes they had gathered having not contained this one. The woman currently in a heap on the floor, looked onwards at him with a look that moved his hands faster than the winged warriors could fire: A look of hope. Pulling out the tasers as if he were about to draw, he fired, the wires firing outwards and making contact with two of the warriors. Pulling the triggers as far as they could go, electricity coursed through the aliens, causing them to fall to the ground spasming.

Unfortunately, there was a third warrior who didn't take kindly to his friends being incapacitated in such a manner. Firing off a laser beam from their spear like devices, Simon leaped forwards towards the ground, mentally thanking his choreographer for showing him how to do all those rolls. Rolling over the ground and onto his feet, he stood up quickly and attempted an uppercut to the alien's chin.

He discovered why they had managed to defeat the Justice League. His chin felt like punching a brickwall, but he still seemed to have felt the punch. Throwing the staff to one side, the winged alien glared at him, "Let's see if that's the best you can do human," he mocked as he raised his hands in a fighting pose.

Uh-oh. He was so going to die now. Taking a step back, he barely managed to dodge a punch to his face, having ducked in time, but was unable to dodge the kick that followed. His chest felt like Superman had used it for target practice. Falling backwards onto the ground, the Gray Ghost looked up at the looming thangarian, the unmistakable sound of laughter coming from the winged menace. "I will enjoy killing you, 'Gray Ghost'."

Gulping, Simon Trent backed away slightly internally yelling at himself for his own stupidity. He was an old actor, how was he meant to save anyone. Now he was going to die on the street in his costume. No, he wouldn't just give up. So what if the warrior punched like an Ox? Slowly getting back to his feet, the Gray Ghost glared at his opponent from behind his goggles, "I'd like-"

However, his grand taunt was for nought considering that the alien was now lying unconcious on the ground, the weary looking woman having bashed him over the head with his staff. It was slightly anticlimactic, but he was still alive and was unharmed, relatively speaking. "Th-Thanks for sa-saving me," she stuttered out, her body shaking in the night air. He really should be doing the same thing, but oddly enough Simon just felt more energised, like he really could help.

"No, thank you citizen," he responded before he could properly think, his voice adopting the slightly more dramatic tone he used during the show. Kneeling before the unconcious trio of vicious valkeries and reclaimed his stun pistols. "Now, get home now. Who knows what villains walk these streets at this hour," he all but commanded before his feet ushered him from the scene, his heart racing as he climbed the fire escape and re-entered his apartment. Removing the hat and goggles he looked at his withered face in the mirror. He, Simon Trent, had just saved a woman and beat up a few aliens. It was a rush.

The city was no-doubt plagued with such occurrences after those feathered fiends took over. Taking one last brief look at himself in the mirror, he placed the goggles back over his eyes, his signature hat back on his head and his trusty prop grappling hook and rope in it's place by his waist. Once again exiting the house, he climbed the fire escape to the top, his eyes looking over the city, his city. The skies were lined with floating ships, search lights emanating from them.

If he survived this night he'd either be really lucky or be captured. Running across the rooftop, he jumped to the next. _'The Gray Ghost was my hero...and he still is.'_


	3. Gray Ghost's Television Plan

**A/N - I've always thought there's been a key difference between the Batman that Adam West played and almost every other Batman since (besides the camp nature of the show). The 1966's Batman gave people hope and helped to show that even if evildoers seem powerful or unbeatable, if you're in a situation that seems impossible to get out of or even if you feel that the world is only darkness; there's always a solution, always a way to beat down what we think to be impossible and that the world is full of goodness and kindness, that forgiveness should be given to everyone and that good, no matter what, always triumphs over evil.**

Jumping from building top to building top, the Gray Ghost slowly made his way closer to the middle of Gotham City. He had a plan, one which he hoped hoped would work. Finally coming to a stop, he knelt forwards and placed his hands on his knees and panted loudly. He really wasn't as young as he used to be. It didn't matter though. He had finally made it to the building he had run so far to get to, the neon sign declaring to the city what the building was: The Gotham City Broadcasting Conglomerate. "Okay, just remember... It worked in episode thirty-nine..." he breathed out, hesitantly leaning over the roof ledge to see the ground so far below him. Moving back a few steps, he shook his head. "For Gotham."

Untying his grappling hook, he wrapped the hook around the one of the metal struts holding the sign up. Giving it an experimental tug, he walked backwards, continuing to keep the rope tense. Looking back towards the ground, he slowly scaled down the building. He didn't need to go far down anyway, the broadcasting studio was on the sixth floor. Actually scaling buildings was a lot harder on the legs than it had been when he was pretending to do it on the show. As he continued downwards, he supposed a lot of things were different now. For one, if he got the wrong cue this time he wouldn't be able to do a retake.

The rope only let him go down the 17th floor. Taking a brief look to the left and right, glad the hovering ships seemed to be focusing more on the grounds below than the rooftops above. Considering they had captured Batman, it made sense as to why they wouldn't bother. Kicking himself off the wall, he swung to the right and flew foot first into a glass window, shattering it as he fell to the ground in a crouch. He really was getting the hang of this. Standing up, he looked at where he was. A stairway and, fortunately, one with labels. Seeing which floor he was on, he hastily descended, his footsteps as quiet as a mouse.

The place seemed abandoned, at least the upper floors. It was only upon reaching the sixth floor did he see a buzz of activity. From what he could see from his position, hidden in the stairway with the door half-open, the Thangarian's were using the studio to broadcast their statements and their laws. A diabolical scheme. Without unbiased journalism, the world would forever be unable to see evil when it faced them. Unfortunately, there were two many of them. Even if he managed to get one of their staffs, he was still outnumbered twenty to one. Further examinations showed that they still needed the television crew to run the equipment... Perhaps they could provide the numbers he sorely lacked. Or, perhaps not. If his hearing was correct, apparently others were calling over the radio that someone had broke in on the seventeenth floor.

Quickly hiding behind the broadcasting room door, the Gray Ghost was undetected as most of the Thangarians left to investigate the floors above for the intruder. A wry smile came over the old actors face. He may not have the element of surprise anymore but they seemed dumb enough to give him exactly what he wanted. After a few moments of staying hidden, he creeped out into the broadcasting room, only four winged warriors waiting for him. He had to do this quietly; if he could barely fight one, how was he going to fight twenty of them? Fortunately, they seemed distracted with ordering the camera crew about to notice him. Or notice the slight, _'sching'_ when the fire extinguisher by the door was detached. They remained unobservant enough, that is, until they heard a loud _'bam!'_ followed by a soft 'thud'. When the three turned around, all they saw was a costumed crime fighter with a victorious smile on his face, holding a fire extinguisher with a small dent in it and one of their compatriots lying on the ground unconscious. "In Gotham City, we believe in the freedom of the press!" he declared as he threw the fire extinguisher towards the trio, managing to bash one of the in the head with it, knocking her out as well. This was going well so far.

Still in a small state of shock at seeing two of their warriors being taken down, they were unready to dodge as he pulled out his stunners and fired, the electrical cables making contact with flesh and causing the last two to shrivel down onto the ground. Looking towards the similarly surprised broadcasting crew, Simon Trent let out a small, happy sigh.

"G-Gray Ghost?" one of the younger film crew inquired. He was a brunette, about 5'9 with blue eyes. About the most average looking kid Simon had ever seen. "...W-What are you-?" he asked, the rest of the crew seeming to follow his sentiment of confusion.

Standing tall, Simon Trent walked over to them, "I'm here to help rally the people of Gotham. The heroes are away, but that doesn't mean we can't fight back. That's why, we're going to send out a message live, to the people of Gotham!" It may not have been a great plan, or even a good one, but it was a plan that he believed in. So what if the feather felons discovered the broadcast? They'd come down and kill him no doubt. This was bigger than him though. _'Being a crime fighter is not what counts the most, it's about being a good citizen.'_

"You can't be serious?! Those winged creatures will come down and kill us all if we did that!" a middle aged man declared, a bushy brown moustache on his chubby cheeked face. He was about 5'1 with greasy blond hair a dark green eyes. From his professional attire and absolute disregard for the rest of the city, the Gray Ghost could only assume he was the owner of the broadcasting conglomerate.

"Have no fear, if I'm correct in my thinking, the Thangarian's that were downstairs have gone upstairs to investigate the area further. After all, they still haven't found me. In-case there are, I advise getting a hold of a weapon like the fire extinguisher or a even using their own weapons against them," Simon responded as he walked towards the camera, his voice continuing to be his deep, reassuring television tones. He may never have been behind a camera before, but he had seen enough people work with them to know roughly how they worked.

"Are...Are you saying we should just abandon you?" the brunette asked, concern filled his voice as most of the crew gathered to leave, a few stopping to here what the Gray Ghost would say next.

"...I'm never going to ask someone to put their life at risk for me. By doing this, I may be able to give some hope to those in their homes, that someone is fighting back. That not all is lost," Simon replied as he backed away so that the camera would be able to get a decent picture of him. Even now, he wanted to look professional on camera.

"Well, I'm not going to let you do it alone. I may not be a hero or even a star, but I'm not just going to stand around and do nothing," the brunette responded, determination in his voice which only filled Simon with hope anew. "I'll start the broadcast!" he declared before moving towards the camera and pressing the necessary keys to get it started.

Following the young man's rather heroic declaration, a few more of the crew stayed behind, arming up and pointing the spear-esque weapons at the stair-way door. "We're broadcasting, in five, four, three..."


	4. The Gray Ghost's Rousing Rhetoric

**A/N - I hope I managed to capture the characters of those involved. I quite liked the idea of seeing the effects of his speech throughout Gotham and how various known figures would react to his word.**

 **Meanwhile, throughout Gotham City...**

Static covered the many TV screens, the face of the enemy disappearing an being replaced instead by the goggled hero of virtue. In homes across the capital, faces of fear turned to that of confusion. In the stately home of Wayne Manner, deep in the hallowed cave of Batman, the Bat-computer displayed the real caped crime fighter's hero, the Justice League looking on with awe and confusion.

"Citizen of Gotham City... I'm the actor Simon Trent and I played the Gray Ghost on TV. However, this isn't television anymore. Our planet has been invaded, our fair city conquered by these winged menaces... All may seem lost, our heroes being captured and possibly even killed at this moment. However," the actor began, his stare going from the camera then to the floor, before fierce determination caused his goggled gaze to once again return to the audience.

"This doesn't mean we're done for. I'm imploring that all those who have the courage and the strength to fight back. If good men do nothing, then evil will win. I may not be a hero, but I'm not going to stand around and watch as my city get's subjugated by these feathered fiends!" he continued, his words filled with passion. Inside a small apartment near Gotham Square, a young woman listened with rapt attention, her ripped attire from earlier being replaced with a pair of blue jeans, a satin green blouse and a form covering trench coat. Her long golden locks were held neatly in a bun; her amber eyes hidden beneath a pair of black shades. Holding aloft the Spear she had acquired earlier, she listened to his call to arms,

"Now, I know some of you are frightened... To tell you the truth, I'm terrified. I can't promise we'll succeed or even see the light of day, but, I can promise you this: We'll show these invading aliens what Gotham does to those with evil intentions in their hearts!" In the renowned site of Psychiatric care known as Arkham Asylum, one of the most warped individuals known laughed wholeheartedly at the televised event. "Oh, I do love a good comedy! But usually I'm the one who does the punchline, Oh, hahaaaheeehaaa!" the Joker bellowed out in hysterics. However, unlike their skin-bleached compatriot in crime, most of the inmates were silently nodding along to the rousing speech. "Only we're allowed to conquer this city! Those bums better book it!" one such villain yelled out, his wooden body raising it's right arm in defiance. "Mr Puddin', if we go it could be fun. Think of all their happy faces when they see us," Harley suggested, gently rubbing her face against her favourite Psychopath. "These creatures show disregard for mother nature's kingdom. For the green, I'm willing to fight," the poisonous plant queen stated.

"I don't have much time left, I can already hear the Thangarians running down the stairs. Just remember this Gotham City; A hero doesn't need to have powers, they just need to know what's right and fight for it!... Good Luck everybody, God Bless us..." he concluded, the sounds of battle coming off camera. The screen became static once again. In the quaint home of Jim and Barbara Gordon, the eerie static filled the room with an unspoken resolution. Standing from the sofa, the Commissioner looked to his daughter with a small smile, "He's right you know." Kneeling down slightly, he gave his wide-eyed daughter a kiss on the forehead, "Gotham needs my help..." he responded as he left her side to go and claim his police pistol and the GCPD body armour. Barbara erupted from the sofa like a geiser and followed his lead, "You can't go out there dad! You'll get killed!" she yelled after him, the odds against them too great for her to even suit up as her alter ego. If they could defeat the Justice League so easily, what chance did Batgirl have?

"If I don't go out there, then others could get killed," he responded as he walked down the stairs and towards the front door. "Now, Pumpkin... No matter what you see or hear, don't leave this house. Please, promise me that." he implored to his offspring, a look of fear in his eyes. His fear wasn't for himself, but for his only daughter.

Unable to remove her eyes from his own, she nodded. "Good... I love you, pumpkin," he stated as he exited the house, the sound of silence filling the heroine's ears.

"I love you too dad..." she responded after a few seconds. "...and I'm not going to let you fight them alone." Dashing up the stairs, she grabbed her costume from it's hidden spot and examined it. "Time for Batgirl to make a scene."


	5. Holy Disappearing Gray Ghost!

**A/N: I'm sorry for such a delay, I hope to make the next chapter somewhat sooner than I did with this one.**

Concluding his speech to the ever eager ears of Gotham City, the Gray Ghost's attention was drawn away from the camera as Thangarians tried to get past the bunkered in television crew. For all his fears of those feathered finks breaking through and killed mid-broadcast, it seemed that the spear-weapons were just as wieldy to humans as the invaders. Nodding to his cameraman, he ran towards the fight, hand already wrapped around his trust fire extinguisher.

Crouching down, he got behind one of the overturned tables and looked to the woman beside him. She was holding the spear over the edge of the table and firing wildly while keeping her head below it. Smart girl. "I have a plan. When I throw this towards them, I want you to shoot it," he told her, a keen smile covering his face while hers was a mixed with confusion, a bit of fear and determination. Hesitantly looking over the table edge, he was able to see a few dead Thangarians littering the grounds around the door, but had otherwise been unable to proceed far beyond firing into the room with their own spears.

Gathering all his strength, the aged actor threw the pressurised canister through the laser filled air. Landing with a dull thud in the middle of the doorway, the woman rose quickly out of cover and, after firing three blasts, was able to hit the fire extinguisher. BOOM! With a thundering boom, the canister exploded and fired it's contents into the air like a fog. Leaping over the table, he rushed into the fog, the only noise now being that of the wheezing winged warmongers. "Surrender or feel the left-and-right fists of Justice!" the goggled hero declared, his siloughette in the fog making the crew think of another caped crimefighter.

Unable to see his opponents either, the actor... Improvised. Slamming his fist forward as hard as he could, he was rewarded with a loud 'BIF!' as his fingers met cheek. It felt a lot softer than the other Thangarian he punched, but he wasn't about to complain about it now. With his other hand, he was able to steal the sparkling spear right from the reeling Thangarians mitts. His victory was short lived, however, as a strong boot met with his stomach and forced the acting hero to the ground. With the sounds of wingbeats, the fog slowly disipated and he was able to see the five fiends clearly.

Hastily rolling to the side, narrowly dodging a stamp to the forehead, he was able fire off a singlar shot at one of them, the beam sending the male back and onto the ground stone dead. Killing, Simon decided, was a feeling he didn't want to repeat. Fortunately, even if he had now renounced his idea of killing, the TV crew hadn't. Firing quickly and mercilessly, the four became none as the last living among the group was the hero.

Rising up from the pile, he looked back at his saviours. "Thank you, Citizens. Now, we must evac-" '-uate the building', he would have said before a very familiar circle of blue light surrounded him and, like a bat in the night, disappeared.


End file.
